


Crime scene

by Peachy (Peachy_5)



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, M/M, Non Despair AU, bxb - Freeform, normal school life au, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:20:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27787402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peachy_5/pseuds/Peachy
Summary: Tw: Mentions of Suicide, Murder and deathThis is a Non-despair AUMurder? Suicide? No one knows. What everyone does know was that the death of piano prodigy, Kaede Akamatsu hit Shuichi Saihara the hardest. Taking an internship at the local police station as a PI’s assistant let him have access to the case file, through his mentor, of course. All through his eighth-grade year, he studied the case obsessively, crime scene photos, evidence data, DNA found at the scene. His friends, and fellow classmates called him crazy, and rightfully so. He was ready to continue studying the case through his high school years as well, when a certain someone walked into his life.Kokichi just can’t keep his nose out of places it doesn’t belong. Constantly tampering with the case file. This isn’t too serious until Shuichi is given a deadline. Eight months to solve the case before the police station lets it go cold.
Relationships: saiouma - Relationship
Comments: 5
Kudos: 45





	1. Passing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This work is currently under construction!  
> What does that mean? That means that the author is editing some chapters because they don’t like how they’re written. This won’t affect the main story at all! This is just to fix what the author thinks isn’t their best writing!

Shuichi woke up with a sinking feeling. He couldn't figure out why. It was sunny and a saturday. He had no homework and plans with his girlfriend, Kaede. Kaede. Kaede. The sinking feeling turned to panic at the thought of the name. Shuichi bolted upright in his bed, snatching his phone off of his nightstand and calling Kaede. No answer. Again, she has to pick up. She will pick up. Over and over again, Shuichi called her number. No answer. Shuichi instantly knew something was wrong, but what? 

Sometimes, Shuichi hated his intuition, although it was what led him to an internship with the local police station as a Junior Private Investigator in the seventh grade. He was the youngest the police station ever hired. He'd solved three cases his first year as a JPI, which was really impressive. 

Shuichi tried to calm himself down before getting out of bed. Kaede would get back to him eventually, of course she would. He got out of bed, not bothering to put on real clothes as he walked out of his room and down the stairs into the livingroom. His mom was on the phone and looked grim. 

"Hey mom," Shuichi greeted, trying not to let his anxiousness show. Noticing him, his mom quickly turned her head to look at him. She said a "hold on," to whoever she was on the phone with and put her hand over the speaker. 

"Good morning, honey. You didn't hear my conversation at all, did you?" She looked nervous, she wasn't trying to mask it. This worried Shuichi because his mom was always calm and collected, or managed to mask her emotions really well. 

"Uh, n-no, who are you on the phone with?" 

"Kaede's mom," she looked like she wanted to say more but held herself back, either for her sake or her son's. 

"Oh, how is she? Kaede wouldn't answer any of my calls this morning." 

"Oh honey," she said with a sigh. She put her phone back to her ear. "Can I call you back? Mhm, bye." Shuichi's mom set the phone down on a nearby coffee table and walked over to her son. She bent down, making her face level with his and reached to cup his face with her hands. She looked concerned, which only made Shuichi nervous, and the position she took didn't help. He knew it was serious. 

"Kaede, she, um, she passed last night. I know this is hard but the-" She was cut off by her son's words. 

"No, no no! She's not dead. She's not, she's-" Shuichi's voice went high as he began to cry. His mom moved to hug her son. 

"I know, I know this is hard to hear. I'm sorry. I knew how much she meant to you."

"No you don't. You have no idea how I feel." Shuichi ripped himself away from his mom and ran up the stairs to his room, slamming the door. His mom didn't bother following or yelling at him for slamming the door.


	2. Loose Ends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mentions of Death, Murder and Suicide

"Shuichi, please take a break. You've been staring at that photo for like, an hour now," Kaito groaned. "You haven't even touched your lunch. Dude, It's been six months, give it a rest." 

Shuichi didn't answer. New evidence had been made available to him and he hadn't set it down for anything. "I've been looking at it for ten minutes. Besides, this is brand new. I have to analyze it. I won't give it up until I find her killer." 

"She doesn't have a killer," Maki chimed in. "She committed suicide. Plain and simple," She sighed and took another bite of her school lunch, which always looked less than appetizing and more less to Shuichi now. 

"You know you guys don't have to be so cynical about it," Shuichi responded, not looking up from the photo. There just had to be something there. There just had to, there just had to be. 

"We're not being cynical, we're being honest. You need to give it up dude." Kaito looked up at Shuichi, annoyed with a hint of sympathy. 

Shuichi huffed and got up from the table, not bothering to take his tray. He took the photo with him, of course. He didn't understand why his friends couldn't be supportive of this case. It was one of his biggest cases this year and it was the one that meant the most to him. 

Shuichi walked around the hallways to take a cool-off before wanting to return to the lunchroom, and even if he did, he wasn't exactly sure he wanted to sit with Kaito and Maki again. Every time he brought up the case, they told him to give it up. He never did, he never would until he found her killer. She had to have a killer. She had to, she had to. 

*****

It had been weeks since the last time either Kaito or Maki had talked to Shuichi. They thought it would give him some time to cool off about the situation. As hesitant as they both were to admit it, they were both worried about him. This case was eating him up and consuming him. It ate away at all of his time, he was obsessed with it. He really needed something to distract him from the case. 

It was time to start applying to high schools. So hopefully that would get Shuichi's mind off things. This was also the time for the elite academy, Hopes Peak High to start taking applications and sending letters out to students, welcoming them a place within the walls of the great academy. 

Kaito broke the silence between him and Shuichi and offered to fill out his applications with him, and much to his surprise, Shuichi accepted. The walk from the school to Shuichi's house wasn't far, so they decided to do it there. 

"Do you think you'll get in?" Kaito asked, nudging Shuichi in the shoulder, maybe a bit too hard because Shuichi stumbled a bit. 

"Get in where?" 

"Hopes Peak High. Duh." 

"Now why would I get into an elite school like that?" Shuichi never thought of himself worthy enough to roam the halls of Hopes Peak. He would just apply to a few high schools in the area and hope for the best. 

"You got the internship with the local police force's PI in seventh grade! You don't think that says something?" 

"No, I do, I just don't think it's Hopes Peak worthy." 

"Dude, that's totally Hopes Peak worthy! They don't look at just grades. They look at your achievements outside of school." Kaito had applied to Hopes Peak. Shuichi thought it was a reach. Kaito was very passionate about astronomy. Very passionate. He'd taken an astronaut training program that he excelled in, but so did most kids who took the course. 

Shuichi sighed, showing disinterest in the conversation. "Oh, I found a new development in Kaede's case." 

"C'mon Shuichi!" Kaito lamented. He hated listening to Shuichi talk about his cases, though he'd never say it. This time, he was vocal about his disdain. "I know you loved her but please give it up. The police ruled it a suicide because that's what it was." 

"It wasn't a goddamn suicide!" Shuichi retorted, turning his head sharply to face Kaito. Shuichi never lashed out at anyone and usually managed to stay pretty calm. This case, however, was sensitive for him. Where some would say, it's already been six months. Shuichi says it's only been six months. 

Shuichi walked in front of Kaito. "I'm so close to solving this. Please just trust me. I will bring Kaede justice. I will." 

Kaito just walked past Shuichi, not bothering to step out of his way, letting his words go in one ear and out the other. "Whatever man, you say that every other week and then nothing happens." Shuichi ran to catch up with Kaito. 

"No, I actually mean it this time I-" 

"Just shut up about it already! Neither me or Maki care about it and the rest of the school has already moved on. Give it up. I'm calling my mom to give me a ride home." Kaito reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. He didn't want to be mean to Shuichi but he had to be real with him.

Shuichi huffed and started to walk home by himself. He didn't need Kaitos or Makis approval, he didn't need their opinion. He was going to solve the case. He was going to. 

***

Shuichi reached his front steps, the rest of the walk was a blur, he was wrapped up in his thoughts, going over the evidence available to him. He shook himself out of it as he pulled the door open and walked inside. His mother was there to greet him. 

"Honey, something came in the mail for you today," She said excitedly, pulling out an envelope. The envelope was slightly yellowed, giving it an aged look. A red ribbon was tied around it and the envelope was sealed with black wax. 

Shuichi set down his bookbag and took off his shoes by the door. Walking towards his mother, she held the envelope out to him. As if the envelope was glass, Shuichi took it carefully, untying the ribbon. Looking at the seal, it was clear who the letter was from. The design on the wax seal was the Hopes Peak High crest.


	3. Summit

The school year quickly came to a close, so did Shuichi's days at his middle school. In the past few months leading up to his middle-school graduation, He had been on-and-off friends with Maki and Kaito. Through their, often short, conversations between classes, Shuichi found that they would also be attending Hopes Peak. Maki was reached out to by the school, for what she wouldn't say. Kaito's application had been accepted. On Hopes Peaks website, they now had the roster for the fifty-third class. Reading the roster, Shuichi saw a name that looked familiar. Rantaro Amami. Kaede had told him about Rantaro, how they were friends in elementary school before she moved. 

There were fourteen students in the class this year, which was much smaller than what Shuichi had in mind, but this was an elite private school of course, the acceptance rate was close to zero. 

Another thing about Hopes peak was that it was a boarding school, meaning Shuichi would have to live in a dorm room. This was mandatory as students attending the school came from all over the country, 

_"Due to dorm renovations, students will be sharing dorms this year. The renovations allow accommodations for students who may need them. We hope to be taking more students into our great halls, but with only single-room dorms available, that isn't possible. We currently have one of the renovated dorm buildings constructed. These new dorms host two people while still allowing a comfortable living space. In the near future, we hope to have all dorm buildings be doubles rooms to allow more people to attend our school, as aforementioned. We cannot wait to host you and see the potential you have to offer.  
-Truly yours, Principle Monokuma." ___

__Shuichi read the email over and over again. He hated the thought of having to share a room. With whom, he didn't know and figured that would be announced at orientation._ _

__***_ _

__It was finally time for the school year to come to an end. Shuichi was sitting in one of his morning classes. It seemed strange that he wouldn't wake up and go to this school anymore. It seemed...Shuichi couldn't think of a word. He sat, thinking about what he would do over the summer and the answer was obvious. He was going to solve Kaede's case. He was._ _

__The teacher droned on about not forgetting what she had taught in her class over the summer because it would be important later and blah blah blah. She was interrupted but the PA system._ _

__"Good morning, students. I have a very important announcement. This year we are sending, not one but three students to Hopes Peak High this year. Please give your congratulations to Maki Harukawa, Kaito Momota and Shuichi Saihara. Enjoy the rest of the day."_ _

__The class erupted in applause and congratulations as everyone turned to look at Shuichi. Some people were smiling, some were frowning. Shuichi didn't care, if he was being honest, he hated the attention._ _

__After class, he was pulled aside to take a picture with Maki and Kaito. He didn't acknowledge the others, just wanting to take the picture and get it over with. Shuichi often thought back to what Kaito had said weeks ago. Neither of them had spoken since, and Shuichi didn't talk to Maki much anyway. After the picture was taken, Shuichi walked back to his classes. Only a few more hours until break. Only a few._ _

__***_ _

___"Dear students, we are to ask that you spend your break here. Of course, there will be no school, this request is simply to give the right amount of time for our freshman class to acclimate to our school environment and develop a new daily routine.  
-Truly yours, Principle Monokuma" ____ _

____"When do I have to leave?" Shuichi asked, looking up at his mom who stood over him, reading the email off of her son's laptop._ _ _ _

____"A little farther down it says to arrange for travel as soon as possible. All expenses of transportation, food and housing will be funded by the school. I guess that means a matter of days then. You should ask Kaito to go with you." His mom stood up from her hunched position. Of course, Shuichi had neglected to tell his mom about his falling out with Kaito._ _ _ _

____"Yeah, I can do that. Do you know if they've posted dorm room assignments yet?"_ _ _ _

____"No, I don't"_ _ _ _

____***_ _ _ _

____One week later, Shuichi was standing at the entrance gates to the most elite school in all of the country. He couldn't believe he'd made it. He marveled at the brilliant architecture, how everything looked so magnificent._ _ _ _

____Someone bumped into Shuichi, hard causing him to lose his balance. Fortunately, he'd caught himself with his hands, unfortunately, he wasn't able to keep his balance._ _ _ _

____"Look what ya did bitchface!" Someone behind Shuichi was shouting, it sounded like a girl, but Shuichi couldn't turn around to see who it was._ _ _ _

____"Look what I did? You pushed me into him." This person sounded a lot closer, Shuichi looked up to see it was the person who bumped into him. He had long purple hair that somehow curled up, defying gravity almost. There was nothing remarkable about him, except he looked young._ _ _ _

____Shuichi stood up, the two people continued to bicker, passing sour words back and forth, shifting the blame. The girl was a blonde, wearing an all pink outfit with a chest harness. She looked much older than the one with the purple hair, but still young enough to be in highschool._ _ _ _

____"What class are you guys in?" Shuichi asked, trying to strike up a conversation with at least one of them._ _ _ _

____The one with the purple hair turned around to face Shuichi while the blonde one kept yelling at him._ _ _ _

____"The fifty-third class. I'm assuming you are too?"_ _ _ _

____"Yeah. What's your name?"_ _ _ _

____"That's not important." He turned back to face the blonde one, starting to argue with her again. If both of them were gonna be in his class, he wasn't so sure he wanted to attend Hopes Peak any more. The two of them were quite...something._ _ _ _

____Shuichi shook his head and continued to walk toward the building. This was it. This was the beginning of his new life. No one just overlooked a high school diploma from Hopes Peak High. After college, Shuichi could get a job just about anywhere._ _ _ _

____Thinking of jobs made him realize that he'd have to drop his internship with his hometown PI. That hadn't even occurred to him. Still, he'd continue to work on Kaede's case. He was going to find her killer. She just had to have one. She had to._ _ _ _


	4. Arrival

Inside the school, Shuichi noticed papers with arrows plastered around the halls, showing him which direction to go. He wondered how he would ever find his way around without guides. He guessed that was part of the purpose of spending his break at the school. The arrows led him to an office where a woman sat behind the desk. Noticing him, she looked up. 

“Hello, are you here for orientation?” She asked, pulling out a few papers from near her desk. 

“Yeah.” 

“Can I get your name?”  


“Shuichi Saihara.”

The office lady smiled and turned to her right and started looking through a door in a filing cabinet. She mumbled his name to herself as she looked for something. She pulled out a yellow paper envelope and turned back to Shuichi. 

“This envelope has your dorm room number, who you’ll be sharing a room with, your class schedule and a few things to help you navigate the school. I know it’s a while before classes even start so if you lose any of those papers, don’t be afraid to pop by and ask for an extra, okay?” Shuichi listened as she explained everything. 

“Freshman classes are on the top floor and dorms are the farthest back on the plot. Building ‘A’,” the office lady gave him a small smile. Shuichi couldn’t tell if she was genuinely this nice or if it was preformative. 

Shuichi back-tracked through the hallways, going back outside. There were a few benches near the entrance to the school so he sat down at one and opened his envelope. He didn’t see the two people he saw on his way in, nor did he see them when he was walking out of the building, so he had no idea where they’d gone. 

He opened the envelope and pulled out the papers, shuffling them around a bit, he managed to get them in order. One half sheet of paper was presumably the dorm room assignments. It had the name of all of his classmates and who they’d be rooming with. Of course, they had the boys and girls separated. Next to the names was a letter and two numbers. The letter of the building, the floor and the dorm number. 

Shuichi looked to his right to see the area where the dorm building stood. He guesses it could easily be a three to five minute walk from the school. He moved the papers around to look at a different one, but something fell out of the papers. Shuichi assumed it was his room key because it looked identical to a hotel room key card. On it was Shuichi’s name and room so that assured his assumption. 

He slipped the keycard in his pocket and looked at another half sheet of paper. This paper read, 

“Tonight’s Freshman Orientation will be held in the gymnasium at 4:15 pm.” 

Looking at a bigger piece of paper, it was a map of the ground floor of the school building. Shuichi looked over it a couple times, mapping a route from the entrance to the gym. The paper behind that was a map of the upper floor, where Shuichi had his classes. He wouldn’t need that for a while. The last sheet of paper was his class schedule, also something he wouldn’t need for a while. 

Shuichi put the papers back in the envelope and stood up. He felt his pockets to make sure he still had the room key and began walking towards the dorm building. One final email told the students not to bring their stuff the first day they arrived so he didn’t have anything to put away but he still had a few hours to kill before orientation so he figured he would check out his dorm room and maybe get a hold of Kaito. It was a new school and Shuichi didn’t know anyone besides Maki and Kaito. Shuichi wanted to start off his career at Hopes Peak on the right foot. 

The walk was as short as Shuichi guessed it was. The dorm buildings weren’t as tall as he’d thought they’d be, but they were still tall for having only three floors. Walking around the plot, Shuichi saw a few people milling around. Most of them looked older than him. Second and third years. 

The buildings all had a big brass letter next to the door, letting people know which building it was. It started at ‘F’ so Shuichi walked through the plot looking for the building labeled ‘A.’ 

Like the lady at the office said, it was towards the back. After finding it, Shuichi stared at the door, as if it was going to jump out at him. He reached out to pull on the handle, not being able to. He pulled a harder, still not being able to get the doors open. 

“I think they’re push, not pull,” a voice said from behind Shuichi, this was embarrassing. He turned around to see who said it and it was the same blonde girl from before. She looked like she was holding in a laugh, which made Shuichi more embarrassed. 

“O-oh, right, that would m-make more sense,” Shuichi said, pushing on the door. Sure enough, the door opened. 

“Are you blind, or are you just that stupid?” She questioned, pointing to a sticker on the door, that in big, red vertical letters that said ‘push.’ 

“Oh, well, I d-didn’t see that.” Shuichi responded, walking inside the building. He didn’t want the conversation to drag on. Inside was what seemed to be like a common room. There was a mudroom with a cubby, where you could put your shoes which led into what looked like a living room area. 

Shuichi took off his shoes in the mudroom and put them in an empty cubby spot and stepped into the living room area. To the left were steps. In the middle was a large sectional couch. Next to the couch was a matching chair. There was also a big TV mounted on the wall in front of the couch. No one was in the common room area at that moment. 

“Hey, are you gonna do something or what?” It was the blonde girl again. Shuichi mumbled to himself and walked towards the steps. The boys' dorm rooms were on the second floor. So that’s where Shuichi was headed. 

At the top of the step, There were only five doors meaning there were only five dorm rooms. Shuichi was in the fourth dorm room on the second floor. It wasn’t too hard to find the door and upon walking up to it, Shuichi pulled out his keycard. Looking at it, it looked like the door had a scanner, so Shuichi held the card up to the scanner. The light blinked red so he flipped the card around and tried again. It worked this time and the lock clicked open. Shuichi turned the handle and pushed the door open. 

The room was bigger than Shuichi though but it wasn’t overly big. Right inside the door was a small couch with a TV on the wall and a coffee table in front of the couch. On the opposite side of the room was a kitchenette with a small dining table. Behind the couch were two beds, one in the corner and one towards the middle of the room. Each had its own nightstand. On the opposite side of the room to the beds was a door. Shuichi assumed it was the bathroom. 

Taking a few steps inside, Shuichi closed the door behind him. It looked like he was the first one there. Everything looked neat and pristine. Shuichi waked around a bit, taking in the room. Walking towards the back, He took a seat on the bed in the corner. He laid back on the bed and moved up to lay his head on the pillows. He stared at the ceiling for a bit, bored.

He pulled his phone out of his lock and checked the time. He still had two hours before orientation. He set a reminder on his phone and set it on the nightstand. 

Laying on his side, Shuichi didn’t even remember falling asleep, that must have been how tired he was and didn’t even realize, but he did.


	5. New Start

Shuichi woke up to his alarm. He’d set it so that he had time to quickly fix his hair and walk down to the school. The only way he’d be able to make it on time is if he’d woken up as soon as his alarm went off and as his luck would have it, he didn’t. Grabbing his phone off the nightstand, he shut off his alarm. 

“Uh, finally. That thing has been going off forever.” Shuichi hadn’t bothered to lift his head up when turning off the alarm. Barely awake, all Shuichi could manage a weak, “what?”  
Lifting his head, he saw it was the same unremarkable guy with the purple hair from before.

“Uh, your alarm. It’s so annoying,” Kokichi drug out the word ‘so,’ putting emphasis on it. 

Shuichi checked the time on his phone, “It would've only been going off for two minutes at the most.” 

“Whatever, still annoying.” 

Shuichi didn’t respond, deeming it a pointless conversation and he didn’t have time. Getting up, he straightened out his clothes a bit and flattened out his hair. That would have to do. He silently cursed himself out for going to sleep. He hadn’t even felt that tired. That didn’t matter now and Shuichi’s eyes darted across his space, looking for the envelope from earlier. He could’ve sworn he’d set it on the nightstand. Damn it. 

“Looking for something?” kokichi asked in a mischievous tone. Whipping his head towards him, Shuichi saw Kokichi holding his envelope, waving it tauntingly. “If you want it by all means come and get it.” Kokichi displayed a sly smile, so Shuichi knew his intentions were anything but giving back the envelope. 

“Give it back, I’m going to be late.” Shuichi put on the voice he used when talking to suspects or police officers back during his internship, hoping to create a facade of confidence and importance. 

Kokichi only shrugged, “What’s the rush? I mean, come on, it’s right here.” Kokichi said as he threw the envelope towards the edge of his bed. 

Shuichi cautiously approached it, as if the envelope were a wild animal. He watched Kokichi, seeing if he was poised to snatch the envelope back, and sure enough, as Shuichi directed his attention away from Kokichi and on to the envelope, his roommate snatched it away. Shuichi could tell this was going to be a fun year.

Kokichi giggled. “I can’t believe you fell for that. You’re so gullible!” As he finished his sentence, he only laughed harder. 

“Give it.” Through clenched teeth, Shuichi used a forceful voice. It wasn’t one he used often, but he felt like that would change. 

Kokichi stopped laughing and scoffed. Winding his arm back, Kokichi hurled the envelope at Shuichi. “Fine. Geez, I was just trying to have some fun.” In a childish way, he crossed his arms dramatically and looked away from Shuichi with an aloof expression. 

Shuichi thought he was now safe from Kokichi’s antics, but upon opening the envelope, it was clear that he wasn't. Brightly colored confetti shot out of the envelope causing Shuichi to drop it where more spilled onto the floor. Stunned, Shuichi stood as still as a deer in headlights. He hated being scared more than anything. 

Kokichi tried, but failed to hold in his laughter. He busted out laughing, which made Shuichi furious. His anxiety quickly turned to anger and he snapped at Kokichi.

“A confetti bomb, really? I don’t give a damn about why you thought that was a good idea but if you ever so much as say ‘boo’ in my presence I’m talking it straight to the main office. Do you understand?” Shuichi remembered as a child how his mother would berate him, and as much as he swore up and down he would never do that to anyone but the worst criminals, he found himself sounding exactly like her. 

Kokichi’s face dropped, but this time it wasn’t in annoyance, it was neutral. For a split second, Shuichi thought he saw fear, but it quickly dissipated and his expression changed, and Kokichi rolled his eyes.

“Oh yeah whatever.” 

Shuichi picked up the envelope, empting the rest of the confetti onto the floor, the bomb mechanism falling out as well. It looked to be a pull-string system that, never would he admit it, Shuichi found it pretty inventive. He looked to make sure none of the papers were damaged, and luckily they weren’t. Shuichi picked out the map of the ground floor and took off out the door, leaving Kokichi alone in the dorm. 

All the way to the gym, Shuichi was thinking. Wondering when Kokichi had set up the confetti popper in the envelope and why he even thought to do it in the first place. He wondered if Kokichi would set up any more traps and hoped that he didn’t. 

First impressions were horrible, both from Kokichi and Shuichi. Shuichi thought, however, that he could redeem himself and leave a better impression on Kokichi. Because of Kokichi’s actions upon meeting Shuichi, he figured there was no redemption. After all, his outlash was caused by Kokichi and normally, Shuichi was a quiet and calm person. 

Shuichi revealed in the joy that sharing a dorm room with Kokichi Ouma would bring him. He definitely was a wild card and began to wonder what the other students of the fifty-third class would be like.


	6. Love in War

Entering the school building, Shuichi looked at his map. He mapped out the path to the gym in his head and headed off that way. In his rush to get out the door, he’d forgotten his phone, so he couldn’t see how late he was. 

He spotted the gym doors from across the foyer. The doors were a light wood with the school crest printed onto both doors. He pushed them open. The lights in the gym were much brighter than those in the school’s foyer, causing him to squint. Blinking, he adjusted his eyes and walked into the gymnasium. 

There were bleachers to the right of Shuichi, which had been pulled out. The sight was almost intimidating. The gym itself was massive. Up on the walls, many banners displaying the schools athletic achievements in every high school sport imaginable were hung high up on the walls. 

There were a few other students sitting staggered on the bleachers. He quickly scanned the faces, falling on one that looked familiar. Rantaro Amami. Kaede had told Shuichi about an old friend from elementary school. To Shuichi, the two seemed pretty close, so Shuichi figured that instead of sitting alone, he had a point of conversation with at least one person. 

Walking up the bleachers, he took a seat a few feet from Rantaro. “Hey, Rantaro, right? I’m Shuichi Saihara.”

Rantaro turned his head to look at Shuichi. His expression looked like maybe the name sounded familiar but Rantarto couldn’t decide. 

“I’ve heard that name before. Where?” 

“I knew Kaede.” 

“Kaede? Oh, Kaede. How’s she doing?” 

Shuichi hesitated. All these years and Rantaro didn’t know? Reflecting, Kaede did say that Rantaro and she hadn’t had much contact after the move. 

“She died. Suicide.” Shuichi had to force himself to say it, both with the fact that she died and saying it was on her own accord. 

Rantaro gave a low hum. “Tragic.” was all he said in response. Shuichi found it very odd that that was all he had to say. 

“Is that all? You guys were friends right? You don’t seem upset at all.” 

Rantarto gave an amused sigh. “Did you even know her?” 

“What? O-of course I did.” 

“You wouldn’t believe how many people wanted her dead. It would be a cop-out to say I didn’t want her dead myself, but it wasn’t something I wished upon her. Kaede Akamatsu, the ultimate piano prodigy. Many people said she didn’t deserve her title as an ultimate and that her parents were paying the government handsomely to give her that title.” Shuichi listened in both horror and shock. How could anyone wish death on such a sweet person?

“That’s not true! She was an amazing piano player.” Shuichi started, trying to defend Kaede. He knew that was just a flat out lie, and Rantaro would say it was a joke any second. 

“Have you ever heard her play? Preform? It sounds like a cat ran across the keyboard.” 

“S-stop. Stop talking. That’s not true, you're just making that up.” Shuichi scooted further away from Rantaro, ending the conversation. 

He didn’t want to believe anything Rantaro said was true but the conversation made Shuichi realize how many holes Kaede’s stories had. He quickly erased the thought, not wanting to entertain it. It just simply wasn’t true. 

He sat alone with his thoughts until someone walked out into the gym. A voice echoed through a sound system that Shuichi hadn’t even noticed was set up in the gym. 

“Good afternoon students, I am Principal Monokuma. I notice that there aren’t many of you in attendance today, but that’s no issue. Today, I’d like to formally welcome you all to Hope's Peak High.” The Principle wore a smile, that even from the bleachers, Shuichi could tell was forced. 

The Principal was old. Maybe forty or so, maybe older even. And again, even from where he sat on the bleachers, Shuichi would see the grey, almost white hair growing in with the man's naturally black hair. It looked odd but Shuichi couldn’t be one to judge. 

A black suit and white bottoms were an odd choice, especially the broach with a red gem fastened to the left side of the Principal's black blazer. None of it seemed to match, but it all looked cohesive enough to look decent. 

Principal Monokuma droned on about school policy and dorm policy as well as general rules and things that wouldn’t be tolerated ‘within the walls of the great school.’ To Shuichi, the air of elegance seemed but a facade. Sure, the school had produced some of the most successful people in the world, but was it really all that great? Shuichi could only wonder. 

The assembly adjourned and Principle Monokuma dismissed everyone back to their dorms. As the small group was leaving, Shuichi thought he might try again at making conversation with one of his classmates. He picked out a short girl with red hair. He walked to catch up to her. 

“Hello, I’m Shuichi Saihara.” 

The girl only seemed a little startled and moved her head to look up at him as she kept walking. “Oh, my name is Himiko Yumeno. I’m a mage.” She said her last sentence with a smile. That must be her ultimate. The ultimate Mage, how exciting. 

“I’m the ultimate detective.” 

“That’s cool, so you solve like, murders n’ stuff?” she inquired, seeming interested. At least this conversation was going well. 

“Sometimes. Not all the time. A majority of cases solved were petty larceny, meaning shoplifting or fraud cases.” Shuichi was content with not having big cases. He preferred rather to handle a shoplifter than a missing person or a murdered one.

The two continued to talk all the way back to the dorm building, where at the door, Himiko said a goodbye and the two parted ways. At least not all of his classmates were lunatics.


	7. Grasping at Straws

Shuichi walked up the staircase to go back to his dorm for the evening. With each step, he grew slightly more anxious of the fact that his roommate had been left unattended for who knows how long. An hour at least. The room might just as well be one straight out of Indiana Jones at this point. Who knows what Kokichi rigged up in there. He tried to put those thoughts aside and focus on different ones, but what he came up with was worse. 

Shuichi wondered if what Rantaro said was true. All he knew about Kaede’s past was that her family was wealthy, and that she played piano from a really young age. Were her parents really paying off the government. That alone would add about five more layers to the case. Of course, the parents were always suspect, being close to Kaede. It made Shuichi wonder. Would the Akamatsu’s rather kill their own daughter than stop paying the government? He’d have to call and inquire about that. 

His thoughts occupied him until he reached the door. Checking his pockets again, he realized he’d also forgotten his room key. Shuichi rapped on the door on the chance Kokichi was in there. 

“Who’s it?” said Kokichi’s voice from behind the door.   
“Shuichi, I left my room key in there, can you open the door?” 

“Hm, I don’t know.” 

Shuichi gave an exacerbated sigh. “What do you mean you don’t know?” 

“You were mean to me earlier. Maybe if you say sorry I’ll open the door.”

“I’m sorry I was in a rush, now open the door.” Shuichi wiggled the handle to no avail. 

“Woah calm down. That apology didn’t sound very sincere. You’re making me think you’re not actually sorry. That makes me sad.” Shuichi heard Kokichi snivel from behind the door. Was he actually crying? No way. 

“I’m sorry, I was in a rush to get out the door and I wasn’t thinking.” Shuichi tried his hardest to sound more sincere, even though he didn’t actually mean it. Fully, at least. He heard a click and the door opened. Looking up at him was Kokichi, who didn’t at all look like he’d been crying. So it was all theatrics? 

Shuichi swiftly stepped into the room and walked over to his nightstand. Luckily, his phone had been just where he left it. “I have to make a phone call so don’t be a bother.” Kokichi didn’t respond but Shuichi hoped that he’d heard him and would listen. 

He scrolled through his contacts, finding the number of his old mentor. He called his office phone, hoping he was there. The phone rang a few times before a familiar voice answered, “Hello?” 

“Hi, so I have something really important that I need to talk to you about.” 

“If it’s about the Akamatsu case-”

“No, well yes, but no. It’s about her parents.”

“Go on.” 

“I heard from one of Kaede’s old friends today, Rantaro Amami, that her parents had been paying off the government to give her the title of the ultimate pianist. I’m not sure how based these claims are, but if there is any truth, it definitely needs looked into. That’s like, illegal, right?” 

“Illegal, I’m not sure but that’s definitely something to investigate, you’re right.” Shuichi heard things clattering around from the other line. “I’m gonna write that down and call you back later. ‘Kay?” The other line hung up. Shuichi puth the phone down. He slank back onto his bed and rubbed his face in his hands.   
Should he’ve told the PI about it? Should have kept it to himself. He tossed around the ethics of what he’d just done. He could’ve sworn he had aged ten years just from his stress. 

“What was that about?” 

“Don’t worry about it.” 

“You shouldn’t either, then.” Though it was advice, Kokichi said it in a smart-ass kind of voice, prompting a glare from Shuichi. 

‘Who’s Kaede? Is she your girlfriend?” Kokichi elongated the last word, saying it in a teasing voice. 

Shuichi’s temper burst like a bubble and in a fit of rage, hurled a pillow at Kokichi, hitting him square in the face. Kokichi had put his hands up as a guard a little too late. He stumbled backward, tore the pillow away from his face and threw it back at Shuichi, who dodged it. 

“Pillow fight?” Kokichi suggested with a mischievous grin. Shuichi wanted so desperately to smack that look right off Koichi’s face, but stayed where he was. Physical violence wouldn’t do any good. 

Shuichi let out a long, exaggerated groan, which made Kokichi giggle. That was it that was the last straw for Shuichi. He began to angry-cry, letting out an angry sob. Not wanting to give Kokichi the satisfaction of seeing him cry, he walked briskly over to what he assumed was the bathroom from earlier. He was pleased to see that he was right. He shut himself in and locked the door. 

Shuichi was normally such a calm and collected person. He’d faced kidnappers and murderers with nothing but a blank stare. Kokichi evoked something in him, something angry and violent. Now that he was alone, Shuichi allowed himself to silently cry. Next to the toilet, there was a small vanity with a sink and a mirror installed over it. He leaned on the vanity as he stared at himself in the mirror

When Kaito was angry, Shuichi had seen him punch just about anything around. Walls, pillows...people. Shuichi wanted to do that now. Turning to the wall next to him, he wound his arm back, driving it towards the wall as hard as he could. He recoiled his hand quickly with a small grunt. Who knew walls were hard?

He held his hand tentatively, looking at it. It hurt. A lot. His knuckles were red and bleeding a little. Shuichi drew his hand back again, punching the wall to the same effect, but doubled now. He held his hand in front of him. It was shaking. He was shaking. Shuichi tried to focus on his breathing, and managed to calm himself down. 

Looking in the mirror, his cheeks were still flushed and his eyes were still red from crying. His hand was an angry red that stung to the touch and just hurt. The scrapes on his knuckles were larger and pooled with a little blood. 

Shuichi flexed his hand. Of course his knuckles hurt, but they were usable. Looking around, Shuichi spotted a roll of toilet paper. Shuichi dabbed at the blood, but it just pooled back up. Turning the faucet on cold, he put his hand under, hoping to run some of it off. Of course, it would scab up, but Shuichi didn’t want to deal with accidentally getting blood on something. 

Shuichi turned off the faucet with his other hand and dried off his hand with the toilet paper. It didn’t work too well, and just dissolved and fell apart. He rubbed his hands on his jeans to dry them off, then dabbed at the blood with a little more toilet paper. 

Looking for a trashcan, he spotted one next to the vanity. He threw the used paper in. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to walk back out, looking in the mirror, his face returned to its normal color and his eyes were no longer red. 

Why did that work? Why did punching the wall calm him down? Shuichi didn’t know, but he tried to ignore the pain that still resided in his hand as he unlocked and opened the door and walked out.


	8. Come to Pass

“Shuichi! Shuichi please!” A voice shouted, pleading and filled with raw emotion. It came from somewhere around Shuichi, but he couldn’t point out where. All around him was black but he himself was perfectly illuminated as if he were standing under a spotlight. 

“Shuichi, please help, he's trying to kill me!” The second time the voice cried out, Shuichi recognized it immediately. Kaede. Kaede! 

“Where are you? I’m coming!” A surge of anxiety washed over him, putting his senses into overdrive. He ran forward, not sure what was in front of him, but not knowing what else to do. 

“Shuichi! He-“ Kaede words mangled together and turned into a blood-curdling scream. Shuichi ran faster, as if he were the one being chased. He came to a door, yanking it open he saw a scene he’d only ever seen in a polaroid. 

Kaede was hanging from the ceiling, blood trickling down her body from multiple lacerations on her body, pooling beneath her feet, suspended mere inches from the ground. The sight made Shuichi sick to his stomach, but he couldn’t look away. A voice curled around him like mist. 

“Why couldn’t you save me Shuichi, you were too late.” His vision went black, as if he’d blinked for too long. When it came back, he no longer saw Kaede hanging from the ceiling, but it was him, in the same spot, hanged and dripping blood. 

The body suddenly dropped at his feet and instinctively, Shuichi took a step back. All this was happening so fast, he didn’t even have time to process his fear, his disgust. 

Kaede emerged from the shadows. A neutral look on her face as she approached Shuichi. He didn’t want to move, but he so desperately wanted to touch her again, to hug her. She came closer, bearing a light smile. 

“You couldn’t save me Shuichi. Why didn’t you save me? Why weren’t you there?” Her voice grew louder, yelling at Shuichi whose voice was just as frozen as his body. 

Kaede pulled a knife from behind her. “Revenge.” Shuichi tried to scream but no sound came from his throat, in fact, his mouth didn’t even move. She drew the blade back and as he took a step back, finding his voice, but instead of being struck with a knife, he found himself sitting up in his bed. 

Shuichi felt cold from the sweat that cling to his body, giving it an uncomfortable damp feeling. Tears streamed down his face, but he couldn’t stop them and he didn’t want to. Even though the room was pitch black, as his eyes adjusted, Shuichi could see the faint outlines of where his tears hit the bedsheets, and the small sound of them hitting the fabric as they fell off his face. 

He sniveled, trying to keep quiet, not wanting to wake his roommate. He grabbed his phone off the nightstand, checking the time. It was half-past midnight. Shuichi threw the covers off of himself, quietly getting out of bed. 

He wanted to get outside and get some fresh air. Or just maybe some water. Looking over at his nightstand again, he grabbed his room key off of it, not wanting to get locked out at this time of night. He, as quietly as he could, slipped on some socks and his shoes before opening the door and slipping out. 

He creeped down the stairs, not wanting to wake anyone up. Everything was dark, so he had to be especially careful. Shuichi made it down the last few stairs, entering the common area. He tip-toed across it, taking large steps. Reaching the door, he pulled it open. He didn't even notice the figure standing next to it as he stepped outside. 

“What are you doing?” 

Shuichi snapped his head around to see who’s said that, not noticing anyone else outside. Maki. 

“Oh nothing, just needed some fresh air.” 

“What were you crying about?” She leaned in closer, keeping an expression of neutral contempt. Shuichi was surprised she could tell in the dark. 

“I had a nightmare.” 

“A nightmare? What are you? Five? Get over it. Don’t even tell me it was about Kaede.” Shuichi never had the displeasure of hearing Maki talk that much. When she did, it usually meant she was mad. 

Shuichi stayed silent. Maki just hit the nail on the head. Granted, she’d known him as long as he can remember. She had him perfectly analyzed. 

“Whatever. Why are you out here?” 

“I don’t have to answer you.” She turned her head away, it had to be for dramatic flare, but knowing Maki, she probably wanted to leave, but there wasn’t anywhere Shuichi couldn’t follow her.

“Jeez, what has gotten into you? You blew up at me over bringing up Kaede’s case and you haven’t talked to me since. Now that I’m trying to talk to you, you still give me the cold shoulder.” Shuichi didn’t want to be mad at Maki or Kaito anymore, he wanted to be friends again, but he knew that wasn’t feasible.

After all, glass that’s been glued together still has cracks. 

Shuichi can’t erase the mean words they’ve exchanged, he couldn’t erase all the times they’d ignored him. He couldn’t get rid of the times Kaito has hurt him either. “I’m going back inside.” 

He didn’t want to, but the tension between Maki and him was palpable. He couldn’t be anywhere. His roommate was a lunatic and Maki didn’t want to be within ten feet of him. He turned around and opened the door again, walking back inside. 

Not wanting to go back up to his room yet, he hung around in the common room. Maybe he should’ve just gotten a drink of water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for not updating! I had a busy holiday week and didn’t have time to write anything.


	9. Seven of Hearts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I’ve been a bit busy with school starting back up again. I promise that soon, I’ll return to an upload schedule. I mean it this time.

Shuichi woke up to his phone buzzing on his bedside table. He didn’t recall setting an alarm, so what was his phone going off for? Picking it up, he was getting a phone call from his mom. 

“Hello?” He answered, barely awake. 

“Hello? Oh thank God! You know I tried to call you five times and you didn’t answer. I was so worried! I-“ 

“Mom, mom! I was asleep, okay? Why are you even calling me?” Shuichi rubbed his eyes, yawning.

“First, don’t talk to me like that. Second, I was calling to check up on you. You know, how’s everything? Are Maki and Kaito there yet? Do you like your roommate?” 

“Good, yes, Maki’s here and no.” Shuichi didn’t want to sound like an asshole, especially not to his mom, but he’d been woken up, and all he wanted to do was go back to sleep. 

“Aw, why’s that? What’s his name?” 

“His name is Kokichi Ouma, and he’s not the nicest person.” 

“Oh well I’m sure he’ll come around, I mean, your friends with Maki, aren’t you? That’s an achievement in itself. ” 

Shuichi paused for a second, hearing his mom refer to Maki as his friend. He hadn’t told her about their falling out, and he didn’t know how long he could keep that from her. 

“Hello? Are you there?”

“Yes mom, I’m still here. Yeah, you're right, hopefully.” 

“You’ll see I’m right. Also I was- oh I’m getting a call from work, I’ll talk to you later.” His mom hung up without Shuichi getting a chance to say goodbye. He looked at his lock screen, the time read twelve twenty in the afternoon. 

Had Shuichi really slept in that late? He figured he shouldn’t go back to sleep, it was already noon after all. He threw off the covers and slid off the bed. 

He hadn’t brought a change of clothes, so he had slept in what he’d worn the day prior, and sleeping in jeans wasn’t the most comfortable. He’d have to ask his mom to bring his stuff over later. 

There was a fridge in the dorm room, but Shuichi doubted there was anything in it. He flattened his hair, finger-combing it out and straightening his clothes. He walked out of his dorm room and into the common room where there were a few people milling about. He recognized maybe five or six from the orientation the other day, and maybe two he didn’t recognize and Kokichi. 

Shuichi walked over to the short girl with the red hair, who was sitting on the couch by herself. Himiko Yumeno, was her name, he recalled. 

“Hey, Himiko.” 

“Oh, hello Shuichi! I was working on a card trick. Wanna see?” She enthusiastically held up a deck of cards with a smile. 

Shuichi returned a smile and sat on the couch next to her. “Definitely.” 

“Pick a card, any card!” Himiko spread out the deck, holding it out to Shuichi. He drew a card. An ace of spades. 

“Do you know your card?” 

Shuichi nodded. 

“Okay, now put it back in the deck and I’ll guess your card!” Shuichi slipped the card back into the deck and watched Himiko shuffle them around a few times, before picking a card off the top. 

She looked at it before holding it out to him. “Is this your card?” It was. 

“Yeah, it is. That’s a really cool trick Himiko.” 

“It’s magic.” She said, a smile growing back onto her face. “Wanna see if I can do it a second time?” 

She held the deck out to Shuichi, and as he was about to pick a card, Kokichi walked over to the both of them. 

“Hey Shuichi, whatcha doing?” 

Himiko answered for him, which he was glad about, not wanting to talk to, much less be around his roommate more than he had to. 

“Magic.” 

“What kind of magic? Can I try?” Kokichi asked excitedly, which made Himiko excited. 

“Yeah! Pick a card.” 

Himiko went through the trick with Kokichi. Who was mystified by it. 

“Woah yeah! Look Shuichi, she guessed my card!” 

Shuichi only slowly nodded. He didn’t want to seem like a jerk in front of his other classmates. 

“I know a card game. Wanna play with me, Shuichi?” 

“Sure.” Shuichi said, trying to hide his contempt. He could’ve excused himself to eat lunch, which is what he came down to do, but it might’ve come off as rude, as he stopped to let Himiko perform her trick.

Himiko handed the deck to Kokichi, who shuffled it. “It’s really simple. We just pick a card, and whoever has the bigger number, wins. But you only win if it’s the same color suit. So hearts and diamonds and spades and clubs. Got it?” 

Shuichi didn’t respond, and Kokichi continued to shuffle the deck. Kokichi picked a card off the top, looked at it and held the deck to Shuichi. He picked the top card off. Seven of Diamonds. 

“Show your card in three, two, one!” Kokichi held out his card, and Shuichi followed in suit. Kokichi had a seven of hearts. 

“What! A tie? What are the odds! Hm...either you got lucky or you're some kind of sourcer.” Kokichi withdrew his card, a mix of expressions ran across his face before returning to a smile. 

“Whatever, we can just play again!” 

“Actually, I’d like my cards back.” Shuichi handed Himiko the deck he was holding and Kokichi gave her back his card. 

Himiko got up and went to the staircase, leaving Kokichi and Shuichi alone by the couch. 

Kokichi sat in the spot where Himiko was previously. “Fun game right?” 

“That was only to be courteous, it doesn’t at all mean I forgive you.” 

Kokichi’s expression dropped for a split second. Disappointment? Sadness? Before Shuichi could read it, Kokichi perked back up again, which he had a habit of doing. “Aww Shuichi, why’d you gotta be such a downer? I’m just trying to have fun.”

“Fun? If your idea of fun is planting confetti bombs around and locking me out of the room, I don’t consider that fun.” Shuichi retorted. Did Kokichi really not see how his antics weren’t funny? 

“Oh c’mon! Lighten up a little bit. You’re so cynical like, emo. Are you emo, Shuichi?” Kokichi said so in a teasing voice, which only aggravated Shuichi. 

“No, I’m not emo, and I’d appreciate it if you stopped pulling pranks like that.” 

“You know,” Kokichi said, leaning in close to Shuichi, “they say if someone teases you or messes with you that they like you.” He looked up at Shuichi with a light smirk. 

Shuichi pushed him back, but not hard. “God I hope that’s not true.” He muttered to himself. 

“Hey that’s not very nice.” Kokichi said, scooting closer to Shuichi, lightly shoving him back. “I’ll leave it up to you to figure out if that’s a lie or not.” 

Shuichi sighed. He went to say something but Kokichi’s attention was no longer on him, it was on the blonde girl who’s name Shuichi still didn’t know. 

“Hey! Miu!” Kokichi jumped off the couch and strode over to the blonde. Miu. That was her name. 

Shuichi pondered over Kokichi’s words to him. He got up from the couch and walked over to the kitchenette. He looked for something that he could eat for lunch. Was Kokichi lying? Did Kokichi like him? Did Kokichi like him in that way? They’d barely known each other for a day. It was a mystery.


	10. Kiss and Tell

Shuichi sat on his bed, reading his favorite murder mystery book. His mom had brought his stuff over the day before, and Shuichi was glad to finally have some form of entertainment. He had social media, but he never used it, not seeing the appeal in spending hours at a time staring at a screen, wishing you had other people’s lives when you really don’t know anything about them besides what they share with the world. 

Mostly, he was glad to have Kaede’s case file with him. His mom begged him not to bring it, and to let it go, but while packing, Shuichi slipped it between some books. The file lay strewn out on his bed, Polaroids, the autopsy report and numerous other pieces of paper were all thrown about his bed. 

Amidst the chaos, sat a notebook. Reading it, Shuichi could barely make out his own words he’d scrawled onto the pages. It was all tidbits of the case, connecting people to the murder. He’d added a new suspect, Rantaro Amami, quoting him. “It’d be a cop-out to say I didn’t want her dead, but it wasn’t something I wished on her…”

Just that five-minute talk added more layers to the case, and it was almost overwhelming. Shuichi marked his page, setting the book down, he put his head in his hands. He had to solve this. He had to. He had to. 

He looked up when he heard the door click open, and yelling coming from it. Just when he thought he’d have a moment of peace, his roommate was back already. 

“I thought you said you’d be gone all day. It’s been ten minutes.” Even though the two had only known each other for just short of four or five days, Kokichi was always causing mischief and making Shuichi’s head spin with his lying games. Although it hurt his head, Shuichi had to admit that Kokichi was a great liar. Even so, Shuichi desperately wanted some time to himself. 

“Eh, Miu and I were gonna hang out but then she got mad and started yelling at me and we decided not to hang out anymore.” Kokichi shut the door and wandered over to Shuichi’s bed, looking at the case file. 

“Yikes, who’s that?” He didn’t let Shuichi answer before picking up a Polaroid and looking at the name written in Sharpie on the bottom Margin.   
“Kaede...isn’t she the girl you were talking about on the phone the other day? So she’s like...dead? Yikes, that’s rough.” He said the last line with a cheery tone and a smile. 

How could he smile about something like that? Shuichi lunged for the picture, papers wrinkling under him. Kokichi said only stepped back. 

“Now, what’s the magic word?”

“I’m not doing this.” 

“I don’t think that’s it.”

Shuichi scoffed and got up off the bed. Walking over to Kokichi, he had an arm outstretched, trying to grab at the Polaroid but Kokichi kept backing up every time he took a grab at it. 

Kokichi suddenly stopped backing up, allowing Shuichi to get close to him. In hindsight, Shuichi should’ve been cautious of Kokichi’s sudden change of mind, but Shuichi was laser focused on getting the picture back from him. 

Shuichi leaned in to snatch the picture but in one swift motion, Kokichi hid the Polaroid behind his back and tugged at Shuichi’s shirt collar, bringing their faces mere inches apart. 

Kokichi smirked and before Shuichi could react, Kokichi leaned in, closing the distance and pressing his lips to Shuichi’s for a second before pulling away, stepping back and holding the Polaroid out in front of him, shaking it teasingly. Kokichi couldn’t help but giggle at Shuichi's stunned expression. 

Shuichi momentarily froze, still registering what just happened. It’d all happened so fast that Shuichi didn't know what happened until their lips were pressed together. Even then, he still had to process the fact that Kokichi had kissed him. He just stood there, unaware of what to do or say. 

He’d never kissed anyone before. He always hoped he’d have his first kiss with Kaede, but that wasn’t going to happen. Could that even count as his first kiss? No, it didn’t count, did it? 

The way Shuichi was frozen in place, pondering over what just happened, only made Kokichi laugh harder. 

Hearing Kokichi laugh at him, at what just happened, made Shuichi grow embarrassed. He went to say something, to defend himself, to chew out Kokichi, but he was interrupted. 

“As cute as it is to see you get worked up over this, don’t. The kiss meant nothing. Think of it as another prank.” Kokichi said, a sly smile creeping onto his face. Kokichi retracted the picture, letting his arm rest at his side, seeing Shuichi wasn’t going after it anymore. 

A prank!? God this man was insufferable. “Just u-uh, don’t d-do it again.” Shuichi silently cursed himself out for stuttering, something he’d worked so hard not to do. Of course it had to be right now, he let it slip. Kokichi would never take him seriously. 

Shuichi should’ve told him off, and started in on Kokichi about how wrong that was, how he couldn’t just do that, he argued with himself whether it actually bothered him that much or not, and a small part of him...liked it? No, he suppressed that thought as soon as it popped into his head. 

Through all of this he realized he still didn’t have the Polaroid. He figured he’d just let Kokichi have it and give in. He didn’t want a round two of whatever Kokichi was cooking up in his mind. 

Shuichi turned around and walked back to his bed. He sat on it, straightening out the papers that were wrinkled. He did a once-over of everything he had and picked up his notebook, writing in it. He tried to lose himself in his work, but Kokichi loomed over his shoulder, watching him. 

“Oh my god, can you leave me alone?” He set down the notebook and rubbed his temples. He could feel a headache setting in. Kokichi didn’t move. Shuichi told himself it was fine and just to ignore him. At least he wasn’t causing trouble. He got back to work. 

Shuichi dived into his work, and a few minutes later, felt the bed shift. Kokichi had sat next to him. The two were shoulder to shoulder, but instead of pushing him away, or telling him off, Shuichi scooted away, allowing himself some room. 

Kokichi only leaned closer, still watching over his shoulder. This all happened without words, but with a few defiant sighs from Shuichi. He figured that if he could deal with it once, it wouldn’t happen again. 

Shuichi had stood through interrogations, and did a few of his own, and learned that sometimes, it was better to give in than to hold out.


End file.
